Graduate Assistantships

Teaching Assistantships and Research Assistantships are available to full-time graduate students. For further information, visit the website of individual schools/colleges.

Graduate assistants can be paid for the equivalent of a maximum of 20 hours per week while school is in session. Students with assistantships must be registered for at least nine credits during the fall and spring semesters (audited classes do not count towards registration requirements).

Students who have a 21 – 40 hour per week research or teaching assistantship during the summer semester are in taxable status by default and have no summer registration requirements

Teaching assistantships may involve teaching courses, leading a discussion section, supervising a laboratory, grading papers, or meeting with students. The typical appointment involves working up to 20 hours per week. A teaching assistant receives a stipend, health insurance and tuition payment (see below) by the university:

• For no more than 10 credits if the workload is 15 to 20 hours per week.
• For no more than 5 credits if the workload is 10 to 14 hours per week.
• If the assistantship appointment begins on or before the first day of instruction and ends on or after the last day of final examinations for that semester (16 or more weeks). 4/15/93.

Research Assistantships are most common in science and engineering fields, but are often available in other fields as well. Research assistants work in laboratories and other settings to assist faculty on research projects. Research assistants also receive a stipend, health insurance, a tuition award based on workload (see below) and in some cases may include payment of fees. Research assistant support is provided by grants/contracts:

• For no more than 10 credits if the workload is 15 to 20 hours per week.
• For no more than 5 credits if the workload is 10 to 14 hours per week.
• If the assistantship appointment begins on or before the first day of instruction and ends on or after the last day of final examinations for that semester (16 or more weeks).
  

Graduate Assistants must be registered full-time (nine credits consisting of a minimum of three graduate credits; audited classes do not count towards registration requirements).

For information on current costs to fully support a Research or Teaching Assistant.

Determining Student Employment:

Compensation Stipend vs. Scholarship/Fellowship Questionnaire

Student Employee Waiver Form

Staff Training in Using New Forms and Procedures (Power Point)

Student Employment Procedures (SW procedures updated 11.08)

Tuition and Stipend Information for Researchers

Example of student stipend and benefit calculations:
A student working 20 hrs/wk for two semesters (ECLS GN or SN) plus extra time on holidays may work a total of 760 hrs. A student working 40 hrs/wk during the summer (ECLS GT or ST) may work 560 hrs. FT summer work also accrues staff benefits of 8.4%. Total hours for an entire year: 1320. Each department on campus determines the number of student hours worked per year slightly differently. Contact your fiscal office for more information on the number of hours a student may work in your department.

Calculating the student's stipend: ($ hourly equivalent)(1320)
Calculating the student's benefits: ($ hourly equivalent)(560)(.084)

Contract Letter Templates: (please note: the org & fund information for both the tuition award and health insurance information must be included on the contract letter in the box on page 2. Grants & Contracts must approve the contract for Research Assistants on grants. All contract letters MUST be signed by the student before the contract will be processed.) Please send all contract letters to Elisa Mattison, Graduate School Director (DLP Suite 101) for processing to Grants & Contracts, Human Resources, and Accounts Payable. Failure to do so, will hold up the student's tuition payment and stipend.

Research Assistant Contract Letter - NOT WORK STUDY

Teaching Assistant Contract Letter - NOT WORK STUDY

Graduate Assistant (RA or TA) Contract Letter - WORK STUDY

Tuition

Principal Investigators must request tuition for a graduate student researcher unless the Sponsoring Agency will not pay tuition costs.  This request for inclusion in the budget must be documented in the initial proposal for funding. The agencies refusal to pay for tuition must also be documented.

Please note that students must be in the state for two years to qualify for the in-state tuition rate, or they can apply for resident status after residing in the state for one year under the university's "bona fide resident" provision. 

Tuition Award Application

Tuition and Fees Link.

2010/2011 in-state graduate tuition is $338 per credit or $6,084 for 18 credits - (full time 9 credits for 2 academic semesters).

2010/2011 out-of-state graduate tuition is $691 per credit or $12,438 for 18 credits - (full time 9 credits for 2 academic semesters).

Tuition Rates

Graduate (Course Numbers 600 - 699)

Resident           $338.00 per credit hour
*Non-resident   $691.00 per credit hour

Graduate Students are eligible for student employment.  This link will take you to the latest information on available employment at UAA.